Insecticides have been used for controlling the noxious insects of agricultural and horticultural products, and controlling unsanitary insects, and thus have greatly contributed to increasing the yield of farm products and livestock products, and also to improvement in health environments. The conventional insecticides include chlorine-based, organophosphorus-based, carbamate-based, and pyrethroid-based insecticides. These insecticides, however, recently have met problems such as environmental pollution caused by drug application, problems in safety such as residuality or accumulativity, or problems in drug resistance. Under these circumstances, an insecticide and miticide having high effects and being free from the problems as above have been required to be developed.
Chemical Abstract 77 : 15609u describes that 1-phenyl-4-(4-pyridyl)-butane is used as herbicide, but makes no mention of its insecticidal property.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 113715/1980 describes 1-phenyl-3-(4-pyridyl)-propane as the raw material of an antidepressant. J.O.C. 34,2113, 1969 reports compounds, in which the hydrogen of propylene group is substituted by an alkyl group in 1-phenyl-3-(4-pyridyl)propane, and further, J. Heterocycl. Chem. 24, 377, 1987 describes 1-phenyl-3-(4-pyridyl)-1-propane, of which a phenyl group is substituted by halogen or methoxycarbonyl group. In said literature, however, the physiological activity of these compounds are not described at all.
The present inventors have repeated extensive studies to develop a pyridine derivative having a high insecticidal and miticidal activity, and being free from the problems of residuality or accumulativity when used as an active ingredient of the insecticide and miticide.
As the result, it was found that pyridine derivatives having a specific structure and the salts thereof exhibit an excellent insecticidal and miticidal effect. The present invention has been accomplished based upon such knowledge.
The object of the present invention is to provide pyridine derivatives having a novel structure, and further to provide an insecticide and miticide comprising as an active ingredient, said pyridine derivatives of specific structure, having a high insecticidal and miticidal activity, and being very low in residuality and accumulativity.